Well, half of it anyway. I still had to trust them to allow me to get home.
“I will lead you to the barrier,” she told me. From the shock on her guard’s faces, they weren’t expecting such a thing, but the Merqueen ignored them, and they fell into step behind us as we walked toward the two doors.
They opened, and we were suddenly in a long hall. I stepped up to the closest window and gaped at the city spread out in front of me.
Even with everything that had happened since I first met Samael, all the places I’d seen, the creatures I’d met—and killed—I could still feel awe.
It rose up in my chest as I blinked a few times. The queen gave me a moment, and I got the feeling she was proud of her kingdom.
She should be.
The palace stood at the end of a broad avenue, which unraveled down a hill. Side streets ran from the avenue, and merfolk strolled across what should have been the ocean floor, all of them on two legs.
And there were plants. And trees. And flowers. They looked nothing like any greenery I’d ever seen before, but they swayed in what felt like a cool breeze as it rustled my hair.
“I don’t understand. Did I go through a portal while I was swimming and not notice it?”
“We have always been here, below the sea. Too deep for humans to reach, and then, when their technology could find us, the inherent magic of our people kept our city hidden. Although, the barrier has not always been in place.”
“But… how could you exist when the portals hadn’t opened… when magic hadn’t reached this world yet?”
The queen smiled. “Magic was always here, for those who knew how to find it.”
She turned, and we continued on down the hall, her guards still in step behind us. Another set of doors was opened, and my breath caught in my throat as I took my first steps outside.
High above us, a huge, incandescent dome spanned the entire city. It glowed softly, reflecting all of the colors of the rainbow and lighting the kingdom with jewel tones.
“This is why I can breathe down here, even without the pelt.”
“Yes.”
“But I don’t understand. You guys don’t need to breathe underwater.”
A hint of sorrow crossed her face. “You have a tale in your world, about a merwoman who left the ocean to walk on two legs.”
It took me a moment, but I nodded. “Yeah. The Little Mermaid.”
Her lips quirked at that, but her eyes remained serious. “While most of the story is incorrect, there are, as usual, some details that retain the truth. However, that is not where the story began.” She sighed. “My great, great grandmother was born on land. She was a poor fisherman’s daughter, destined for a life of poverty if not for the striking nature of her face. Her father decided to sell her.”
I winced. “I’m guessing she didn’t want to be sold.”
“No. But that was expected. One day, she ran to the edge of the sea, crying out to her gods to save her from such a fate. Her gods didn’t answer. But my great, great grandfather did. To hear him tell the story, it took him merely a single glance for him to fall deeply in love.
“However, she considered him a demon and attempted to flee, slipping on some rocks. She fell and hit her head, and it seemed as if she had escaped her fate after all.”
“But your great-great-grandfather had no intention of allowing that.”
“No,” she smiled. “He dragged her as far beneath the sea as he dared, using his power to breathe for her as he engaged one of our healers. When she was able to open her eyes, she kissed him in thanks.”
Big mistake.
The queen nodded at my expression. “Yes, with that, she sealed her new fate. The king decided he would have her, but he needed time to adjust his home so she could live. Prior to this, our people lived in the depths of the ocean, spending little time on land and in our two-legged forms. But the king went to the fae. He bargained with both the seelie and unseelie, and both agreed to give him what he needed. Our dome was created on the next full moon, and the night before she was to be married, the king traveled to her village and stole her away. When she awoke, she was below.”
Claustrophobia rose up, sharp and violent. The kingdom was beautiful, but the idea of being stuck down here, of never feeling the sun on my face again… I shuddered, and the queen gave me a regal nod.
“Yes, the new Merqueen felt the same way. She was grateful to her mate for ensuring she wouldn’t be sold, but she ached for her world. The king refused to take her back, believing it was best for her to accept her new life.”
I scowled. “He sounds like a real dick.”
